svaz
Sierra Vista,#2Consumer Comment
Wed, October 09, 2013
Call me a liar if you will. I am another out of state residen facing very similar issues. A few months ago, I visited the Denver area fir the first time in several years. I purposefully and knowingly traveled on E470, knowing it was a toll road, expecting to pay the toll at a toll booth like I had on previous trips. Imagine my surprise when the toll booths were closed and cordoned off with no explanation of why. I remember thinking that it was odd, and thinking that they must not be collecting tolls for that stretch, but hoping I hadn't accidentally blown a toll. Several months went by, and this incident was all but completely forgotten. I had received NOTHING to indicate that I owed any fees for my brief trip on E470. And yes, I do keep my address on my registration current.
Nearly five months later, out of the blue, I receive a letter from a collections agency. Big flashy yellow paper, trying to get me to purchase an Express Toll account. I honestly nearly threw it away as an advertisment, but then decided to look more closely. My roughly $6 toll had turned into over $30, and my good credit is being threatened. Customer service at E470 is of no help. No one has the authority to waive any ridiculous fees, and supervisors are never available. They offer to transfer you to a supervisor's voice mail, but they never returen your calls. Emails also go unanswered. I have offered again and again to pay the fee for the road usage, which I expected to pay when I got on the road, but they won't take it unless I pay all of the additional fines.
Call it a scam, or don't call it a scam. Semantics, schmeantics. It's clear that these excessive "fees" are a big part of their business model and how they make their profit. It may be legal, but it's certainly unethical. But then again, I'm just another liar.
blivinghere
Henryetta,#3Consumer Comment
Thu, December 29, 2011
@tellthetruth...........I don't really know why i'm responing to someone who sounds like a paid apologist for this toll bunch, but here goes. After receiving a bill for late charges and penalties without prior notice i contacted the toll people who pretty much blew me off. Did a google search out of curiosity ( would suggest you do the same ) and saw many similar complaints. Don't plan to use the road in the future, so i don't really care past that. All i can say is i got their bogus fees dropped by filing a complaint with the Colo AG and would advise others to do the same. I still believe it is a scam for the simple reason that they could use certified mail for their notices for proof of mailing but they don't. Very convenient if you ask me. YOU want ME to prove they dropped the fees ????? THAT is very funny .....I think the the toll trolls are the ones that need to prove anything .
Jessie
Guymon,#4Consumer Comment
Thu, December 29, 2011
E470 has sent me bills when I have never driven their roads. Yes, it's possible they misread a license plate, but they won't admit to it until you threaten legal action. Also, they have made this mistake multiple times and have sent my name to their collections agency on one of those occasions, after assuring me that the mistake would not happen again.
I also sent a complaint to the Colorado A.G.'s consumer complaint division. The response was the following:
"Although we do not have immediate supervision of the toll authority (it is comprised of three county and four municipal jurisdictions that jointly regulate the activities of Express Toll), we do appreciate your efforts in bringing your concerns to our attention."
It went on to read:
"To ensure that your concerns are voiced to the proper authority, we will forward your complaint to the Customer Service Manager: Jim Harlan, Customer Service Manager, 22470 E. 6th Parkway, Aurora, CO 80018, [email protected]."
I have yet to hear from this Jim Harlan person.
TelltheTruth, why do you insist on basically calling us liars? Do you work for the turnpike authority? If so, why is E470's staff so incompetent that they repeat the same mistake with the same non-customer over and over?
TelltheTruth
Westminster,#5General Comment
Thu, December 29, 2011
Blivinginghere maybe the Authority made a MISTAKE which is much different then trying to SCAM you. I know you must be perfect and never make MISTAKES but if you did would it be fair for someone to say you were a SCAMMER because of your mistake. I don't know the true details of your situation you could be saying anything to try and get people on your side maybe you are telling the gods honest truth who knows but you. Keep in mind hundreds of thousands of people probably drive E470 each year and only a fraction of a percent probably complain about billing; if there were some sort of organized scam don't you think more than half the people that use the toll would complain? Maybe you should publish your AG complaint and their response and something showing they waived all the late fees to confirm your details.
blivinghere
Henryetta,#6Consumer Suggestion
Wed, December 28, 2011
@Tellthetruth........................ If this isn't a scam please explain to me why they dropped all th bogus added on charges to my tolls after i filed a complaint with the Colo Atty General ?? The toll people contacted me and told me that after searching they could not actually find where they had sent me prior notices before the late charges and penalties were added.Strange that they didn't want to discuss it earlier..... so that is my suggestion ........... file a complaint with the atty general ..... takes some time but you might get a little justice .. gl
Robert
Irvine,#7Consumer Comment
Wed, December 28, 2011
First to TellTheTruth not sure what toll roads you are familiar with but there is no "running" the Toll both on this road because it is a "Cashless" toll road. If you don't have an account they bill you based on your license plate. But the rest of your comments are valid, they know they are on the road so the should know that they will be owing tolls.
Now back to the OP, what proof do you have that they didn't mail it out? It seems just as likely if not more likely that in all of these moves some of your mail that was legitimately sent out was lost.
I have moved to where the people before have put in a change of address and still occasionally get their mail. It then takes me to give it back to my Carrier and let them know the person no longer lives there. Can you really post here saying you are 100% certain that in the several places you lived that no one got and kept your mail and every piece of mail that was sent was forwarded to you?
With the exception of 2 Tolls they all seem to be from March 2011. Not knowing what you paid in May, it is possible that because of the amount of time of the delinquency or just the fact that they are violations that they don't show up on the same statement as other violations/tolls.
Now, the Toll Authority where I am is not "cashless" and if you don't have an account you can "run" the toll booth and have to pay a pretty heavy fine, I think it is up to a little over $100 for a $0.50 toll. But if you get a "violation" they allow you to get an account and they waive the "fine". Do they offer this with this Toll Road? Even if they don't you seem to travel it quite often so why didn't you have an account? As far as I can tell they only require a $35 deposit but no other fees and they give you 20% off your tolls.
TelltheTruth
Westminster,#8General Comment
Wed, December 28, 2011
Seriously you think that E470 could be in business and do what you are suggesting??? Get a
clue and act like an adult your comment doesn't present any facts or even sound plausible. You diminish the cause of this site which is to report actual scammers.
Jessie
Guymon,#9Consumer Comment
Wed, December 28, 2011
I have had the same experiences. However, I live nowhere near Denver and I have never used these toll roads.
They send bills out of nowhere for supposed tolls from months before, always with late fees attached.
TelltheTruth
Westminster,#10Consumer Comment
Wed, December 14, 2011
The bottom line is it's not a scam you ran the toll and didn't pay timely. You knew you were on E470 and you knew it cost money to use it. I understand the frustration when a bill increases from the original amount. It's your responsibility to change your address with the DMV and also file a NCOA form. You didn't do what you were supposed to do so instead of learning from your mistake you rant that this is a ripoff. Be honest with yourself and the readers and take responsibility for YOUR ACTIONS and learn from it so it doesn't happen again.
blivinghere
Henryetta,#11Consumer Comment
Tue, October 11, 2011
I KNOW the above statement by "Emloyee" is false. All my contacts are current . Notices mysteriously don't arrive and yet the final notices with fees and panalties miracously just appear out of nowhere. Give me a break . What a lame transparent scam. They must surely like the " He said, she said " scenario they are relying on concerning mailing of the notices. All they have to do is print up bogus copies of mailings that were never mailed for their so-called proof of mailing. Certified mail would surely put them out of business with this scam.
Herb
Windsor,#12Consumer Comment
Sun, July 31, 2011
E470's practices are not ethical. Several folks report that the authority holds tolls after they determine a bill is delinquent, then months later send a huge bill with supposed "civil penalties". They do not reply to requests for proof of debt, and seem to have a system intended to collect exorbadent fees rather than operate in a reasonable manner. My experiences are just like the others. I do pay all of my bills, and have excellent credit, and have never had an experience like this. I will not settle based on principle and will take every means to expose this practice and the board of this highway authority.
E-470truth
Aurora,#13UPDATE Employee
Wed, July 20, 2011
E-470 mails a toll statement to the address on file with the department of motor vehicles in which the vehicle is registered. Before it is mailed, the address is also run through NCOA (national change of address). If the owner has not updated their mailing address with the DMV or filed a change of address, the mail will be returned. E-470 will run skip trace to find another address. The unpaid tolls continue to age through the billing/violation process while everything is done to find a correct address.
The registered owner is responsible for updating his/her address. After the second month of nonpayment, the tolls are moved to the collection process. The collection agency uses many methods to find a good address such as checking magazine subscriptions or utility bills. When a current address is found, the next piece of E-470 correspondence is mailed with the appropriate fees and/or fines that have accrued during nonpayment of the tolls. Customers with questions or issues regarding their tolls should contact the EXpressToll Service Center in a timely manner.